7.19.2013

Britt's Picks: Mexico's Nerd Culture

In honor of Comic-Con San Diego this week (which I am missing
and am VERY distraught over), I wanted to bring to light some of Mexico’s own
nerd culture, by giving you examples of popular Mexican comics. Finding classic
Mexican comics took some digging, probably because the world of comics has
not had a strong grip on Mexico. But I’ve found a few that seem to embody the
goofy qualities of beloved superhero stories:

Mexican-American Gus Arriola, creator of the Gordo comic
strip that ran from the 1940s through the 80s, wanted to introduce the U.S. and
the world to Mexico through his comic. The story followed the adventures of
Mexican bean farmer Gordo and friends.

1950's comic series La Araña Verde (“The Green Spider”) followed scientist-turned-superhero Steve Harley as he fought for justice in the guise of La Araña Verde.

La Llanera Vengadora was a 1970s comic book series based on a cowgirl-type hero, also fighting for justice. Actress/Singer Flor Silvestre became the image of La Llanera Vengadora.

Jose Guadalupe Cruz further popularized El Santo, the famous luchador, by creating a long running comic series of him titled Santo, El Enmascarado De Plata. The 1950's series was based on El Santo's quest to fight crime, and is one of the most famous comic series in Mexican history.